The prior art is already aware of various forms of tape wrapping or applying machines. Examples of such prior art are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,834,499 and 3,031,368 and 3,192,093 and 3,414,451 and 3,418,358 and 3,600,253. All of these patents show machines for applying tapes or labels to objects of various configurations, including cylindrical and rectilinear objects. These patents further show work piece chucks which receive and hold the work piece while the tape is being applied, and they also show that the so-called chuck is rotatable about the work piece and has some means for pressing the tape against the work piece, and the tape is then cut when the work piece is completely wrapped by one length of tape. Still further, the prior art is already aware of chucks or work piece holding devices which are segmented or which have separable sections which can be moved away from the remainder of the chuck for the opening of the chuck to insert and withdraw the work piece relative to the chuck, and examples of such are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,511,741 and 3,851,869.
The present invention differs from the aforesaid prior art in that the present invention provides for a tape wrapping machine which is capable of receiving a bent type of object, such as a bend vehicle exhaust pipe, which cannot be inserted by axial movement into the machine, because of the bends along the pipe or object being taped. Therefore, it is necessary to move the pipe or object into the machine in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, thereby providing for a segmented type of chuck which can be opened for reception of the work piece. Further, in the process of applying a tape to a vehicle pipe, as well as to other types of objects, it is critical that the tape be applied straight on the pipe and in a very secure manner so that it will remain on the pipe even through considerable handling and storage conditions, and the tape is utilized for identifying the pipe or like object. At the present time, tape is applied to these types of objects, and particularly including vehicle exhaust pipes, by a hand process which is time consuming, laborious, and often does not meet the required standards for having the tape straight on the pipe and being sufficiently pressed thereon to be secure for the purposes intended. Therefore, the aforesaid prior art does not at all suggest any complete apparatus or machine which applied tape onto cylindrical objects having bends along the lengths thereof, such as vehicle exhaust pipes and to do so in a manner which meets the standards of taping as they pertain in this particular art.
Still further, the present invention differs from the prior art and is an improvement thereover in that the aforesaid prior art does not provide for a taping machine which positively and securely affixes or presses the leading end of a tape against the object and then cuts the tape and then finally presses the trailing end of the cut tape against the object, all to have the tape securely wrapped around the object. In contrast, the prior art at best provides a machine which initially requires that the tape be manually applied to the object at the leading end of the tape, or thereabouts, and then the remainder of the tape is applied to the object, though not necessarily by the desired pressing of the tape against the object, and again the trailing end of the tape is not finally pressed against the object. That is, the present invention provides a taping machine which is fully automatic and only requires that the operator place the work piece into the machine and from that point forward the machine does all of the remaining work.
Another distinction of the present invention over the prior art is that the present invention actually operates to stretch the tape onto the work piece in that the tape applying mechanism of the present invention is a biased or spring-loaded presser member which causes the tape to be initially pressed against the work piece and then stretched for wrapping the tape around the work piece in at least one full turn. Still further, in accomplishing this invention and still speaking with respect to contrast over the prior art mentioned, the present invention requires that the work-piece chuck rotate only one revolution in completely applying the tape for one full turn on the work piece, whereas the prior art mentioned above in some instances requires as much as three revolutions of a chuck or the like. Still further, the tape is applied in the present invention by means of overlapping the ends of the tape to fully secure the tape to the work piece, and the wrap is actually slightly over 400 degrees of rotation in the present invention.
In summary, the present invention provides a tape wrapping machine which is fully automatic in the process of wrapping a tape around an object for more than 360 degrees of the object's periphery, and to do so by one revolution of the machine and overlap the ends of the tape being applied to the object and to stretch the tape while applying it and thereby having the tape straight and secure on the object. The aforementioned objectives are all accomplished even though the object is one of an irregular shape in its length, such as a vehicle exhaust pipe having bends along its length, and the machine is nevertheless adapted to completely surround the portion of the object which is to receive the tape and thus completely enclose the object while the tape is being applied thereto, and a segmented chuck is utilized for this purpose.
Other objects and advantages, and other manners in which the present invention distinguishes over the prior art, will all become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings.